Pride Goes Before the Fall

Months ago, the then 5 year old saw a boy wearing sneakers with wheels in the grocery store. I want some, she said. Not a surprising ask as she’s 5 and wants everything. Maybe for your birthday, I said. And even though I’m in this space where I think we have so much stuff, too much stuff, it’s still her birthday so I bought her a pair of shoes with wheels. Which I promptly sent back when I discovered they were defective. After looking around some more I decided the reviews for the sneakers were just sketchy enough to make me nervous and I opted for buying a regular pair of skates.

And then, because the 52 year old brain is also sometimes sketchy, I had the bright idea of buying a pair for myself. Mind you, that last time I remember being on skates I think I was about 10 or 11. But I had this thought, “I used to be good on them. I’ll remember how to use them.”

The day they came in I put them on and as it turns out, there doesn’t seem to be even a whiff of muscle memory. Which also isn’t surprising since, as I mentioned, I’m 52. Between 10 and 52 there’s been a whole lot of forgetting going on.

I checked this morning and I have until Friday to decide if I want to return them. My stubborn streak is saying to keep them and that I just need to put a little time into practicing. My fear of breaking something for the first time in my life is saying, “Stop it. Just return the things; the kid will have just as much fun learning to skate on her own as she would if you were next to her stumbling around.”

Right now the argument is pretty evenly tied. I truly don’t know where I’m going to land - on the returning the skates I mean. I’m pretty sure if I keep them I’m gonna land on my ass at least half a dozen times.

Posted on 8/4/2025 | 0 comments | Dailies